I hit 50 after a very enjoyable run of leveling half the way through PvP. I said my farewells to my friends in the 10-49 bracket and dinged 50 with a magnificent Voidstar win. Then came the days of ruin. The armament quests on my server are borderline impossible to finish- for the Republic, because we are outnumbered 1:10 and there is no way to get a kill, and for the Imperials, who have a difficult time just tracking any of us down (often times there are no more than two or three Rep players in the zone). Added to this pain is the fact that I came into the 50 bracket at a distinct gear disadvantage, despite saving up the merc/wz comms and a champ bag. We can't win to progress in gear, and we can't progress in gear to win. After playing 120 hours to 50, my Jedi Guardian is in complete stasis. I cancelled my sub this weekend once I realized that for me, end game PvP is simply a massive brick wall. And it's not like I can transfer servers to somewhere more suitable. My thoughts on fixing this: Instance for Ilum. Just make it a WZ, or something like Wintergrasp. Cross server PvP. I think this one is in the works, and it can't come soon enough. We simply don't have the players to fill the matches in the end game. I'll pop back in a few months to see how the game has progressed. There's a very fun core here, but it's surrounded by layers of frustration.

Honestly, I don't think we get much out of maximizing stats in the 1-49 bracket. I've got the mountain of +Accuracy from the vindicator set and I do very well in PvP, and I don't have problems questing either. Once we hit 50, I think that's where we want to do careful balancing of accuracy, surge, crit, and expertise.

Don't buy the medium armor. It may look cooler, but the heavy orange armor gives more armor, which is what's intended for Guardians. I'd go with the Vindicator set. It seems to be pretty common to stack DPS gear even if you're going a tank spec for PvP, so if you're doing DPS anyway, rock that one. It's great gear, too. I nabbed everything at 40 and I still haven't replaced much of anything at 48. Maybe a mod or two here or there, but that's it. Edit: As for saving commendations, eh; you've got the whole 40-50 to do that. Splurge on the gear because it's great for helping you through the class quests, then begin saving your 1000 Mercenary and 1000 WZ commendations (plus one Champ Bag!) for 50.

Honestly, I feel like if you're going to invest that much into focus you might as well go all the way and get Force Exhaustion. Hybrid Defense/DPS makes sense to me, but splitting up the DPS trees means you're going to miss an ability that either rounds out your rotation (Plasma Brand) or is pivotal in maximizing the tree's damage (Force Exhaustion for Singularity). Yes, Force Stasis builds Singularity, but it's got a massive cooldown compared to Exhaustion. That's just my guess, however. I'd love to read about how well it works if you find hybrid Vig/Focus useful.

Huttball is a team sport. I understand that a lot of gamers never figured out how team sports work, so I'll give everyone a hint: team is in the name. You're not going to win if you don't coordinate, communicate, and play together. Hiding away from the action does nothing for your team. Our Republic population is outnumbered around 10:1 on my server, yet we rarely lose matches. Why? Because our tiny community learned that we had to communicate and work with each other to win. Talk and strategize. That's how real life works. That's how it works in WZs as well.

I'm impressed how you've obviously managed to go through your entire life without ever being taught a single thing by another person, instead arduously learning each new facet of your living experience through sheer trial and error. But for the rest of us simple humans, it's nice when others share their wisdom. Because that's what humans do. Help each other.

We really, REALLY need to get some Jedi Knight guides going up. We see this exact same crap every day in a new thread. "The Jedi Knight/Sentinel/Guardian blows." Is the JK hard? Yes. Does it take a very long time to come into its own? Yes. Does it seem like the ranged classes get to murder us from afar by tapping a couple buttons? Sure feels that way (though perception does not necessarily equal reality)! We need a sticky that explains the Knight and the two ACs so people can read it and understand the essence of the class. I think that's the biggest problem. Players except the character to play one way when it was designed with something different in mind. What is that expectation? That we're invincible AND powerful, like the main characters of the movies. Sorry gents; you and I are the foot soldiers of the Jedi order. We're the unnamed Jedi that get taken out by blasters in Episodes 2 and 3. Remember how Jango Fett nearly kicked Obi Wan's rear? That is us. Expect to get ripped up. Therefore, expect to play smart. Know your tools, know your limits. Both Sents/Mauras and Guards/Juggs can be devastating when played right. We really need a guide to help players who are struggling. I struggled, and I had to sort through a dozen threads of wacky complaints and arguments to find the good stuff. We should put that in one place.

Yeah, wait until you've learned the mission well and you've upgraded your ship's gear to the point that where, once you finish the objective, you can *literally* walk away from your computer and come back to a finished mission because the remaining enemies can't produce enough damage to weaken your shields/hull and kill you.

Bioware, you've introduced a system that requires significant grinding of items in order to unlock rewards like quests and reduced gathering/crafting times. The time this affection system takes is multiplied considerably not just by the fact we get many characters (only one of whom can be present for dialogue affection rewards), but also by the gift cooldown. It takes 5 minutes of waiting to hand out 10 gifts... that's significant waiting time of doing nothing. Sure, I could do it while questing, but that becomes considerably less likely at the end of the game for players waiting around for PvP or Ops/FPs. We can't give out gifts in those situations, only when we're waiting. Late-game companions or ones that are rarely used (because they're not useful for the player) already take extra time to gain affection with. Please, take off the gift cooldown. It's already a long grind to obtain/distribute the gifts. We don't need an arbitrary debuff to artificially extend the process, which turns it from a cool concept to a boring grind.

YES. This is why I quit doing space missions altogether very early on. I calculated that I was spending about 10 minutes sitting around doing nothing waiting for the missions to end when I did my space dailies. The missions become extremely boring when you're forced to sit around for 1-3 minutes after finishing the objectives.

Oh, man. I'm level 46 and have been PvPing with Vigilance for the past 10 levels or so. Today, I finally decided to take Focus for a test drive. It took me a couple matches to really get the hang of it, but hot diggity damn! That boy produces some damage! I really enjoy Vigilance, but Focus is a real freakish beast. I don't think I'll be switching back any time soon. I got 7 medals within the first 3 minutes on Alderaan thanks to a pocket healer and judicious use of Taunt/Challenging Call. Maybe that's not impressive to anybody else, but it tickled me pink for sure. Though it lacks some of the utility of Vigilance, with Focus I suddenly stopped having as much difficulty with some classes in 1v1 that I did before. Focus isn't a panacea for all the Guardian issues in PvP, but it's super awesome. Everyone should try it at least once.

I'm curious why we wouldn't want the 6% strength increase from Perseverance in the Vigilance tree. Edit: Plus, any thoughts on this build (doesn't have that 6% strength)? http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#500cMZhMZGrR0ddMdGR.1

There's a lot of debate about which specs (or mix thereof) are best for PvPt. I've read a lot of it, and I'm not interested in seeing any more arguments. What I am interested in is seeing some discussion about the Focus tree within the context of the Focus tree. Translation: I don't care if you think Vigilance or a Def/Vig hybrid spec is better. There's already 8 threads on that topic. I want some thoughts about Focus talents, strategies, rotations, tips and tricks. So, Focus fans, help me out. I'm level 46, and I've been PvPing as Vigilance since 32 pretty consistently. I've also tooled around quite a bit with Defense. Focus, however, is absolutely brand new to me, and I'm ready to keep things fresh by trying a new spec. Any recommended builds? Are there talents I should avoid in Focus? Are there talents in Defense or Vigilance that I need to grab? What are the ability priorities? Should my playstyle change much from my Vig spec? Thanks!

You make that sound like a conscious choice. If you've divined a method of picking your WZ, we'd all love to hear about it. I agree that the Guardian is somewhat crippled in comparison to other classes of the same level until later in the game. Force Stasis and Push are essential PvP abilities, but those don't appear until the mid-20s. I think that's when the Guardian really starts being useful, though I was able to get at least 5 medals per match around 20 through careful tanking in Defense spec. I'll go along and say Force Push is when you really start getting fun in PvP. Leap. Push enemy into a pack of your allies. Leap again. Go to town. Basic strategy for messing up anyone.

Will the Legacy System offer players experience gain bonuses for alts? I love the stories in TOR, but I don't need to see the same planet quests 4 times for each side as I experience new class quests.

Guardians are absolute freaks in PvP. I love them to death. I've yet to play the Focus spec, but I've spent quite a bit of time in Defense and Vigilance. I'll reiterate in color what others have said. Taunt / Challenging Call. MASSIVE reduction in damage to your teammates. Use it. Use it always. You're saving lives and gaining medals. This is what Guardians DO. Guard is the root word here! Crowd Control and Interrupt incessantly. Force Push! Stasis! Slow! Awe! Force Kick! You will make enemies scream in frustrating once you lock them down with careful management of your CDs. And you'll be killing the ball carrier. Guard! Saves lives, annoys enemies. There's of course more, but I can't finish this right now But if I end a match with less than 8 medals, I feel like I did something terribly wrong. Guardians are absolutely my favorite class. They just take a reeeeaaal long time to get going.

Good question. I play a Vigilance Guardian in PvP, and I've never encountered an issue fighting a Maurader in a fair, 1v1 fight. It's highly likely I haven't played a good Maurader yet, however. Actually, that sort of answers the question, at least as far as I'm concerned. A Maurader may produce more damage when played as well as a Jugg, but the Jugg's toolset and survivability may make him outlast the Maurader. Without hard numbers, it's impossible to tell. In PvE, the Maurader may very well be the superior damage dealer. PvP, though? Maurader may have higher DPS, but with higher mitigation, CDs, and CCs, competent Juggs are a serious challenge to Maurader. There's too many factors in PvP to decide who has more "effective" damage. It's all about the comfort and confidence with the character. (My Maurader isn't high enough level to really comment on how it plays vs Juggs/Guardians).

These are more for people who haven't experienced much Huttball yet: Bind a hotkey to Throw Huttball. If you have to click, you're going to eventually lose out a good pass due to reaction delay. I have mine as a shift+side mouse button. You must click the ball to get it off the dais. The Throw Huttball ability is a targeted AOE. That means you select the area you want the ball to land in. Make sure there's a friendly player in there. Don't wait until you're in a tight spot to get rid of the ball. Watch out for teammates forward of your position. Veteran players will position themselves beyond fire traps for a quick goal. Don't get distracted by fights that have nothing to do with the ball. This isn't deathmatch. Your team wins when it plays as a team. You will not win if half the players are engaged in worthless duels at all 4 corners of the map. More general: Don't be a hero. Even tank specs will get ripped apart if they rush ahead and get focused by every member of the opposite team. Stick with your teammates. Communicate. Call incoming enemy players on Alderaan and when the enemy team is about to swarm one side on Voidstar. Before Alderaan begins, decide who is going where. The generally strategy is to send 1-2 left and let the rest focus on mid. In Voidstar, generally stealth goes one way and the rest of the players go the other. Use your entire toolset. All classes have a variety of abilities that do more than cause damage. Learn them. Use them. You have defensive, offensive, and crowd control abilities. CC is especially invaluable.

Apples and oranges. Guards/Juggs can Force Push into acid and fire trips, then Fore Freeze or Force Stasis/Grip them on the spot. Or cast Awe (or whatever Jugg equivalent). Grapple is a crowd control ability, and so is Force Push. You're talking about DPS.

I used Force Leap (guardian) on a fellow that just was running over the air vents and I promptly leaped off the server. I was in the middle of the Huttball arena, then in red oblivion, then at the character select screen. Serious bug.

That's the way civil rights work, man. You don't stop rattling the cage just because somebody from on high says you'll be free- you keep going til you're free. And yes, this is a battle for a freedom. THE FREEDOM TO WEAR PVP ARMOR THAT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS DESIGNED SOMEBODY WHO HAS HEARD OF STAR WARS! I have BEEN to the mountain top, and it's FULL of AWESOME PVP GEAR that does NOT look like a HALF BAKED SPACE SAMURAI. Amen!

Hi guys, I apologize if this has been brought up before, but it's been stuck in my head for a few weeks and I'd like to just get it out there. First of all, I love the class storylines. I really do. Some players ask where KOTOR 3, and I say it's already here. Anyway, that's why when the Legacy system kicks in, I hope there is some kind of bonus experience system that allows my character to level only through the storyline (ie class) quests. The planet quests, PvP, and Space Combat missions are all awesome. I'm not saying they aren't. But Bioware, you gave me 8 stories that I want to see. Those stories, as it is, take upwards of 100 hours to complete each. Unfortunately, the majority of that is content I've already seen with my other characters. Basically, my suggestion (and wish!) is that I can take my alts through their respective storylines without having to grind out the necessary levels on content that I've already seen. Thanks!

Guardians need some stickies. This is a great start.

Many players have leveled as Defense with Kira in tow and have lots of good things to say about it. Personally, I found the down time between fights (as you'll be taking all the damage) to be tedious and switched to Vigilance once I picked up Doc. Actually, until Doc, it's probably best to level Defense with Kira anyway. Once you get Doc you can really mix and match specs and companions to find your ideal point, but until then, you have two viable options: Either you tank, or T7 tanks. If you run with Biochem and can get the Purple re-usable medpack, that'll help curb the downtime as a tank.

My Guardian's now in the mid 40s, and I can't imagine playing any of my other toons now. It takes awhile to really get off the ground gameplay wise, so until then you have to play the class for the love of the character- being the iconic Jedi hero of the films. This class truly is a latebloomer. It's fun enough early on, but it's not until late when everything really clicks. Force Push + Force Leap, Saber Throw, Force Statsis... these are all awesome attacks in both PVP and PVE. I tried to go back to my BH after playing a few hours of PVP with my Vigilance Guardian yesterday, but it was underwhelming. No other class gives you that feeling of being the hero in the thick of the melee like the Guardian.